Summ'n Up Our Year

~ Tom & Gina Wheeler Family 2007 ~

     We have had an unusual year indeed. With the many job changes and moves, selling our home and transplanting to Missouri we have been in a constant cycle of move and wait.

In January Tom set off for Salt Lake City to drive long haul for the England trucking company. He did very well in the classes and the driving tests and graduated top of his class. The girls and I really missed Tom while he was gone for the 2 1/2 month training. Especially when the well broke the first week, followed by the electric going out, then waking up one morning with a flat tire. But Heavenly Father watched over us. We had very good neighbors, relatives and friends in our ward that jumped in to lend a hand when we needed an extra one!

In February I got to run up to Salt Lake close to Valentines and see Tom for the weekend. It was very fun to get to tour around Salt Lake together and just be together! We also put our house back on the market. Our hope and plan was to sell the house by May, get Elizabeth ready for NAU, and then Cristie and I would go on the road with Tom for a year while we saved up to buy a new home. The plan would have worked great, but the house didn't sell right away. Elizabeth, Cristie and I spent much time cleaning and packing between school and church activities. But only a few people called to see the house. We prayed a lot and looked for a secondary plan.

In April, if I am remembering the right month, "the house was turned upside-down" to get Elizabeth ready for the Chinese themed Prom. We actually spent a few months looking for and finding the perfect dress. Then we had to alter it a bit, and find the perfect accessories of course! Being her senior prom we went all out. It was a great distraction, as Tom was still driving over the road and gone much after his training. Boy did we miss him!! Each time he got to come home for a day or two was like a holiday! But anyway Elizabeth's prom was awesome, she had much fun and felt like the bell of the ball!

Well the semester ended. Elizabeth and Cristie were glad to be done with classes! I decided to go to Farmington NM with Cristie and work the summer for my dad to off set our bills some. Elizabeth went to Kingman AZ to visit her mom and family there. With the house not selling it was eating up our budget. Driving over the road only brings in good money if you are in busy season, and works better either with two drivers, or with only one household to worry about. So off to NM we went to stay with my family for the summer so Cristie would have someone to hang out with while I worked at my dad's Sonic store. I was worried about gaining weight, good ice cream YUM!, but running back and forth as a carhop I actually lost 10 pounds! Yay Sonic.

In June Tom had some medical problems and we had to turn in the truck. Then he came to NM to be with Me and Cristie and recooperate. By late July we were feeling restless and really wanting the house to sell. So Tom took Cristie, picked up Jacob and Elizabeth and went back home to Tonopah for the rest of the summer to visit with the kids, finish packing the house and put it in the paper again. I stayed in NM for about a week longer with my job, but decided I was done and wanted to be with my family! With in 24 hours of that thought I was home! :o) The various jobs and staying with family really blessed us during that time, but we were glad when it was over. Oh wait we are still living with family huh? Well it feels different knowing they are trying to get the OK to Germany, and we have more space here, and there is snow! lol So anyway!

In August Jacob went back home to Kingman to get ready for school and we took Elizabeth up to Flagstaff to start her first semester at NAU! That was really weird to help her set up house and then leave! The house was very quiet without her, she was much missed!! But like most college students she adjusted fast and enjoyed her new found freedoms, friends, and activities! We have enjoyed hearing about her experiences over the last few months.

But lest I jump too far ahead let me go to September when we decided to really lower the price on our home and put one more ad in the paper and that did the trick. The first part of September we had a contract on our house. It meant being able to pay off fewer bills, but it meant no more house payment or loosing the house! We were very happy. Tom had been looking in AZ, NM, and CO for jobs since June and hadn't found anything yet. We decided that we would look for a place to rent in CO and set up shop there as it had the best prospects. We were supposed to close the first week of October, and then we would be off! Most of our time was spent packing and moving everything into storage.

A week before we were supposed to close we got a phone call from Bruce and Liz in Missouri. They had a great opportunity to apply for a 2 year position, with Bruce’s job, in Germany. But they didn't want to leave the house empty, or rent it to strangers while they were gone, so they called to see if we would be willing to move there if they got the job. They were hoping to hear by the end of October, if they were on the list and the end of November if they got to go. Well that would be a BIG turn around in our plans! We hadn't even thought of Missouri in our looking for places to live. But both families decided to pray and fast about it. We felt that it would be a good thing to do and told them we would come if they got to go. So we started looking for jobs there and found quite a few that looked very good!

Long story short about a week after we closed (2nd week of October) we were in Missouri. We knew it would be easier to get a job in person and Bruce and Liz didn't mind us coming early. We were very happy to be able to stop on the way and spend some time with Elizabeth and my family on our way out. A week after we got here they read our names into the ward, that was fast! The week after that Tom was called to be the Sunday School President. That was very fast!! We have felt, ever since we got here, that this is where we were supposed to be right now. So we are content.

Our first month with the Paulin family was spent in demolition and reconstruction of half the basement to make a new bedroom and 1/2 bath. Much rot and mildew from the summer flooding was disposed of and happy clean walls constructed! :o) We took time out to have fun too. Cristie went fishing with her dad and Sara and Uncle Bruce and caught her first fish! She caught quite a few actually, four of which came home to be cooked. Three catfish and one bluegill? They had a lot of fun!

Tom and I celebrated our 12th Anniversary on the 27th. It doesn't seem like that many years have passed. Guess we are having too much fun together! :o)

With November came a new job for Tom with Aramark as one of there level 3 audio visual technicians! We were very excited to find a job so quickly and stay in a field we wanted. It has turned out to be a great company, with awesome people to work with. We are very happy to have the opportunity for great training and future growth opportunities. November also brought colds and viruses to the house. Much of November and December someone had the sniffles and dreaded cough. Never the less we very much enjoyed our holidays, the weather and great company. Our ward is great, we feel very at home here. The biggest down side for us is being so far from our other kids after having them so close it has been a big adjustment! We are very thankful for e-mail and cell phones! Our Newsletter for November and December cover most of the rest of the details of the last two months.

With December came extra prayers that Bruce and Liz would hear about and get the job in Germany. Not that we want to get rid of them or anything, wink wink. :o) Hey they were the ones that asked for extra prayers! But really they did expect to hear by now, and the waiting game is never fun!

December was also finals for Elizabeth, which she thinks she did well on. AND, yes I am telling, it was the month of her first kiss! Sorry Elizabeth, you couldn't expect me to leave that out! And most of the family knows anyway. :o) Jacob turned 14 this year and was ordained a teacher!! Being way over here we missed it, but are very happy and proud of him. We also got his patriarchal blessing this year. Special memories and milestones for him! He has been enjoying wrestling lately and of course is good at it. He does great at most everything he puts his mind to! We have awesome kids what can we say? :o)

So we have started and look forward to this New Year. For the new beginnings, and new adventures ahead!
 

-Gina Wheeler

Front Page

Page 2

Page 3

Page 4

Page 5

Page 6

Page 7

back to wheeler site

Another year down. You never realize how much happens in a year until you try to summarize it. In the past year there have been numerous natural disasters, political unrest in all kinds of countries, and the continuation of two wars. All of that, I am sure, should go into a year end summary. I am also sure that someone else will write it.

Instead, I want to concentrate on the earth shaking events in the Paulin household over the past year.
The first really big event this past year was our ten year anniversary. By Hollywood standards, our marriage has now fossilized. We celebrated with a trip to one of the many KC museums and a lunch at Figlio's Italian restaurant on the Plaza. We finished out the day watching the buffalo at the local buffalo park. It was very romantic and worthy of a milestone anniversary.

The next big event was Sara turning eight in April and being baptized. She had a very nice ceremony and we celebrated with banana splits afterwards. Sara is becoming quite the little lady. She prefers very elegant clothing. In fact, this summer, she was seen wearing a blue party dress while skateboarding down the road.

We had two big trips. The first one was the trip to the family reunion in Denver. We stayed with Stephany and Terry. It was good to finally meet the rest of Liz' siblings after ten years of marriage.
The second was my parent's trip here. The high points of the trip were taking Mom and Dad to Adam Ondi Ahman, and the canoe trip with Dad on the Current River. We spent three days and nights canoeing, fishing and camping on the river. I caught my first small mouth bass, and a few other of his kind, and Brian caught two small mouth bass on the last morning of the trip. The prize for first and longest catch went to Dad with a 24 inch rubber bungee fish.
All in all, it was a very good year for fishing. Brian caught his first fish at the Aaronic priesthood commemorative campout in March (formerly father/son campout). It was a small bass. He also caught a bunch of crappie and bluegill at the same camp. All fish were released, and probably caught again. This makes it impossible to tell exactly how many fish were caught, but eight seems like a likely number. Sara also caught her first fish this year. She landed six channel catfish and a bluegill on a trip to a local pond in October. She kept four of the catfish, which her Uncle Tom prepared for dinner. It turns out that catfish is a little mushy for me. I also caught a turtle on the last warm day in the fall. He was one unhappy Frisbee lizard.

As well as the year that the kids went on the river trip with Grandpa, this will be known as the year of the great sewage flood. The city sewer overflowed into our basement during a very heavy rainstorm in early May. While the event itself was truly horrendous, we were blessed beyond measure with help from church members who came to our rescue both during the flooding, and the clean up.

It will also be known as the year that Tom and Gina came to live with us. Actually, they came to live in our house if we go to Germany for an extended period of time, and to make a fresh start somewhere where Tom's lungs can get the hydration they need. In the meantime, it has actually been a lot easier having two families under one roof than I thought it would be. Tom and Gina help us get lots of the projects done that we have been working on for months, and in return, they overlook all of our little quirks, and even watch the kids sometimes. I know it is a one-sided deal, but is seems to be working OK for us. (Just don't tell them).

About that possible extended stay in Germany; in August I was promoted to a position as an adjudicator with USCIS, but I never got to start the job because I was so needed in the customer relations department. Either that, or the government wasn't able to come up with a computer for my new desk, so they had me do my old job for more money for four months. In the meantime, I applied for a position as a supervisory adjudication officer, and will start that job before I ever get to start doing the work I am being paid for. I have also applied for a job with USCIS working in the Frankfurt, Germany consulate. I handed in the application in the beginning of October, found out I made the list of eligible candidates in early November, and am still waiting to hear back on the job. Perhaps tomorrow. Consider the amount of time it takes the government to find equipment and how speedily they can make simple hiring decisions the next time someone says that the Government should take over health care.
Just in case that does happen, we are trying to avoid the need for major health care. Both Liz and I have been trying to lose weight over the past year. Liz used a method of disciplined eating and treadmill walking. She lost almost 30 pounds before the onset of the dreaded holidays. I used a system of riding my bike to work, and eating whatever I wanted. I have lost about 20 pounds over the year before the holidays. Both of us have had some back-poundage from the holidays, but hey, that is why they put New Years right after Christmas!

-B. Paulin

Front Page Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7

back to wheeler site